TOMB OF HEPHAESTION IN AMPHIPOLIS
L.Kaliambos (Kaliambos -Natural philosophy) November 21, 2014 Using a combinatory method for the dimensions of the Amphipolis tomb and under a detailed historical analysis I discovered that the Amphipolis tomb is the significant funerary monument (as a miniature of ancient Alexandria) made by the architect Dinocrates for the divine hero “HEPHAESTION”. The photo is from the interview I gave with the title "Hephaestion tomb" (τάφος του Ηφαιστίωνα) to the President of Spiritual Thessaly, Mrs. Dimitra Bardani through the TV Thessalia channel (Greece).' ' A similar method was used also by the British architect Ventris, who in 1952 deciphered linear B which extended in archaeology the Greek history. My discovery helps the study of the Hellenistic period, because the tomb of Hephaestion in Amphipolis is the only one survived monument which gives us today the unit of length used by Dinocrates. Since Dinocrates worked for the government, no one could order him for personal purposes. Such a historical information supports the idea of the American archeologist Dorothy King that the Amphipolis tomb was constructed for Hephaestion. According to the History of Greek People (Hellenistic period) and the writings of WIKIPEDIA after the death of Hephaestion (324 BC) Alexander the Great sent messengers to the oracle at Siwa to ask if Amon would permit Hephaestion to be worshipped as a god. When the reply came saying he might be worshipped as a divine hero, Alexander ordered his architect Dinocrates for building a magnificent funeral monument with a base at the size of one stadion. According to my discovery this is the conic pyramid for Hephaestion having a circular base with a diameter of one stadion including also the sacred numbers 7 and 12 like those of the foundation of Alexandria. Note that in Alexandria was the tomb of Alexander and the Greek mathamatician Heratosthenes using the Alexandrian stadion measured the perimeter of our earth. Whereas Aristarchus of Samos based on the discovery of Eratosthenes developed the heliocentric system responsible for the progress of physics and astronomy..''' Unfortunately in the absence of a detailed knowledge about the dimensions of the Amphipolis tomb archeologists and historians do not relate the construction of the tomb with the architect Dinocrates, who used the unit of length (stadion = 157.5 m ) of the Hellenistic period for the construction of the Amphipolis tomb under the sacred numbers 7 and 12 for both the tomb of Hephaestion and the perimeter of walls of ancient Alexandria in Egypt. So the puzzle of the Amphipolis tomb continues to be dominant in TV and in newspapers. For example Greek TV stations have been conducting live broadcasts from the dig, updating their audiences on the excavation's daily schedule. Meanwhile, newspapers have splashed paparazzi-style photos of lead archaeologist Katerina Peristeri on their front pages. Peristeri, who has been digging at the site for two years, has repeatedly stressed she hasn't found conclusive evidence suggesting who might be in the tomb, and she believes it was likely built after Alexander died in Babylon around 323 B.C. without relating it with the dimensions of the tomb. Surprisingly my discovery that the diameter d of the circular base of the tomb is of one stadion = 157.5 m, including the sacred numbers 7 and 12 of the Kasta hill supports the idea of the American archaeologist Dorothy King that the tomb of Hephaestion was constructed in Amphipolis using the marbles ever used in Macedonia. Indeed it is the only one survived funeral monument which gives us today the unit of length of the Hellenistic period. It was built by the architect Dinocrates who planned also the foundation of Alexandria in 331 BC giving the same sacred numbers 7 and 12 of Babylonians used in ancient astronomy. ( See my SECRETS OF AMPHIPOLIS AND ALEXANDRIA). Therefore Dinocrates worked for the government and no one could order him for personal purposes. According to the Ministry of Culture the Kasta hill burial monument is the biggest ever built in Macedonia made of the largest quantity of marble ever used. It is an extremely expensive public work, impossible to have been funded by a civilian. Nevertheless, Robin Lane Fox, a Reader in Ancient History at the University of Oxford and author of several award winning books about Alexander and the ancient Macedonians, named Nearchos as potentially the person buried in the tomb currently being excavated. Similarly another professor of classical Archaeology, also speaking to The TOC, made the assessment that, “it is likely to be a personality from the circle of the Macedonian palace, from the environment of Alexander the Great. That is what the evidence indicates.” The academic Michalis Tiverios stated that, “the emblematic presence of the lion of Amphipolis points in the direction of some important general of the time, as the lion was a symbol of military virtue. On the other hand in the absence of a detailed knowledge about the work of Dinocrates judging from the caryatids' dress, University of Athens archaeologist Olga Palagia believes the tomb dates from the Roman era. Due to its size, she thought it was likely a monument to an event that occurred near ancient Amphipolis. "An excavation is dated by the things the excavators find inside, first from the ceramics and secondly from the inscriptions and the coins," Palagia explained on Greek television. "Right now there has been no evidence of these things, so we look at the sculptures." Peristeri, meanwhile, has lashed out at archaeologists who have fueled speculation about the site. "I am outraged by colleagues who, without knowing the excavation or the archaeological site of Amphipolis, go on television for five minutes of fame," she said on a TV broadcast. "This excavation isn't done only for the benefit of archaeology, but also for the sake of the country in a very critical time period. Everyone is watching." To avoid such contradicting ideas I studied carefully the History of Greek People ( Ekdotike Athenon , Volume Δ from page 208 to page 278). According to the writings of page 208 after the death of Hephaestion (324 BC ) Alexander the Great ordered his architect Dinocrates for planning a very expensive tomb (called Pyre) having a base at the size of one stadion. Since after the death of Alexander (323 BC ) the so called Pyre was cancelled by Perdiccas and the army (page 245) one concludes that '''the so-called Pyre was not burnt. '''See also in the "Hephaestion-WIKIPEDIA" ''' the following paragraph: "It is possible that the pyre was not burnt, but that it was actually intended as a tomb or lasting memorial; if so, it is likely that it was never completed, as there are references to expensive, uncompleted projects at the time of Alexander's own death." Moreover my discovery that the diameter of such a very expensive monument is of one stadion it leads to the conclusion that the expensive Pyre is just the tomb of Amphipolis. Also according to the writings of WIKIPEDIA , (see “Hephaestion-WIKIPEDIA”), Alexander sent messengers to the oracle at Siwa to ask if Amon would permit Hephaestion to be worshipped as a god. When the reply came saying he might be worshipped as a divine hero, Alexander was pleased and "... from that day forward saw that his friend was honoured with a hero's rites." In other words in Amphipolis the archaeologist Peristeri should be very hopeful, because she discovered the tomb of the divine hero HEPHAESTION. Under this historical information and the preliminary findings in Amphipolis in the “Dinocrates-WIKIPEDIA” one reads: “According to preliminary findings by archaeologists Dinocrates may have been the architect of a vast Hellenistic tomb found at Amphipolis in 2012.” Nevertheless the Associate Professor of Department of History and Archaeology, in University of Cyprus, Theodore Mavrogiannis expressed an inconsistent theory that the Kasta Tomb is Macedonian tomb and was built around 325 BC. by order of Alexander before the death of Hephaestion. ( See “Amphipolis: Is Hephaestion the possible occupant of the tomb" ). Also the Greek historian Sarantos Kargakos wrote a confusing article about the Alexander the Great and his mother. (See " New claims: The tomb belongs to Alexander the Great"). According to the History of Greek People (pages 250 and 251) in 321 BC when Perdiccas sent the body of Alexander from Babylon to Aegae, (modern Vergina of northern Greece), in Syria the body was hijacked en route by Ptolemy I Soter. Ptolemy initially buried Alexander in Memphis of Egypt and in the late 4th or early 3rd century BC Alexander’s body was transferred from Memphis to Alexandria, where it was reburied. ( See also it in the “Tomb of Alexander the Great-WIKIPEDIA”). Today it is well known that in 321 BC Perdiccass was assassinated by his officers Peithon, Antigenes, and Seleacus. (See “Perdiccas-WIKIPEDIA”). Then ( 320 BC) the “general of Europe” Antipater at Pella of Macedonia became regent of all of Alexander’s Empire. (See “Antipater-WIKIPEDIA”). Such historical events support the idea that Antipater continued the plan of Alexander for the construction of the divine hero HEPHAESTION which is confirmed by my discovery that the diameter d of the circular base of the Amphipolis tomb is d = 1 Alexandrian stadion = 157.5 m. ( See my CONFUSING KASTA TOMB AND GEOMETRY). CONCLUSIONS According to the History of Greek People and the related writings of WIKIPEDIA this is the Tomb of the divine hero HEPHAESTION. However we do not know what happened in the third chamber where there is the desecrated grave with the skeleton. Professor of Classical Archaeology Panagiotis Faklaris, who has served for 36 years the excavation at Vergina in northern Greece in an interview with The TOC pointed out that the size of the grave, as well as the material used for its creations are not consistent with the greatness of this burial monument. “If we take into consideration what has been announced about Amphipolis, we cannot draw the conclusion that the main body buried in Amphipolis is the one found.” Faklaris further states that the body found may have been buried there either before or after the time of the construction of the Kasta Hill burial monument. If this hypothesis is correct one may conclude that persons of high society like generals as close friends of Alexander or persons from the circle of the Macedonian palace made the most of this very magnificent tomb of the divine hero HEPHAESTION and buried themselves there. Moreover in case in which the excavation team in Amphipolis will discover more small graves in the large tomb of Hephaestion, they will be graves of later times in the very magnificent tomb made for the divine hero HEPHAESTION. Category:Fundamental physics concepts